Ari Shapirohttp://www.kplu.org
enIn Britain, A Christmas Tradition Of Slapstick And Sillinesshttp://www.kplu.org/post/britain-christmas-tradition-slapstick-and-silliness
<div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.<img src="http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=In+Britain%2C+A+Christmas+Tradition+Of+Slapstick+And+Silliness&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDA4NDQ1MjMzMDEzMjA3NzExMTA5OTU5Yw004)"/></div><p>Thu, 25 Dec 2014 21:29:00 +0000Ari Shapiro21012 at http://www.kplu.orgA Century Ago, When The Guns Fell Silent On Christmas http://www.kplu.org/post/century-ago-when-guns-fell-silent-christmas
A century ago, young men in Europe were killing each other by the tens of thousands. World War I, which had erupted just a few months earlier, was raging. Yet on a frozen Christmas Eve, the guns briefly fell silent.<p>The Christmas Truce of 1914 has become the stuff of legend, portrayed in films, television ads, and songs.Thu, 25 Dec 2014 08:25:00 +0000Ari Shapiro20999 at http://www.kplu.orgA Century Ago, When The Guns Fell Silent On Christmas Record Number Of Britons Are Using Food Bankshttp://www.kplu.org/post/record-number-britons-are-using-food-banks
The United Kingdom is struggling with a situation that may sound familiar to Americans. The economy is expanding, unemployment is dropping, yet growing numbers of people don't have enough food to eat.<p>Six months ago, Peter Brogan was among those Britons going hungry. He'd lived a comfortable middle-class existence for the first 50 years of his life, with a house, a job and a relationship. Then the relationship fell apart, and so did his life.Tue, 23 Dec 2014 19:28:00 +0000Ari Shapiro20935 at http://www.kplu.orgRecord Number Of Britons Are Using Food BanksState Department Feared Torture Report Would Spark Fury. Where Is It?http://www.kplu.org/post/state-department-feared-torture-report-would-spark-fury-where-it
<div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.<img src="http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=State+Department+Feared+Torture+Report+Would+Spark+Fury.+Where+Is+It%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAyNDY5MjM1MDEyODE2MzMyMTZmZDQwMg001)"/></div><p>Wed, 10 Dec 2014 09:54:00 +0000Ari Shapiro20453 at http://www.kplu.orgU.S. Tech Firms See Green As They Set Up Shop In Low-Tax Irelandhttp://www.kplu.org/post/us-tech-firms-see-green-they-set-shop-low-tax-ireland
Here's a fact that might surprise you: All of the top 10 U.S. companies that were born on the Internet — including Google, Amazon and eBay — have overseas corporate headquarters in Ireland.<p>The American tech sector is huge in Ireland. It's growing rapidly — and having a huge impact on life there.<p>But the tax system that's fueling the growth is also infuriating some people in the U.S. and Europe — and has Ireland reconsidering its tax code.<p><strong>A City, And Country, TransformedMon, 08 Dec 2014 09:17:00 +0000Ari Shapiro20362 at http://www.kplu.orgU.S. Tech Firms See Green As They Set Up Shop In Low-Tax IrelandFor Northern Ireland, Wounds From 'The Troubles' Are Still Rawhttp://www.kplu.org/post/northern-ireland-wounds-troubles-are-still-raw
Sixteen years ago, the Good Friday peace agreement ended the violent conflict in Northern Ireland by creating a power-sharing government. Around the world, people point to the agreement as a model for how to resolve ethnic conflicts.<p>And yet, political leaders in Northern Ireland are still struggling to bring Protestant and Catholic groups together.Fri, 28 Nov 2014 19:30:00 +0000Ari Shapiro20059 at http://www.kplu.orgFor Northern Ireland, Wounds From 'The Troubles' Are Still RawIt's Not Whisky, But Everyone In Scotland Drinks It By The Bottlehttp://www.kplu.org/post/its-not-whisky-everyone-scotland-drinks-it-bottle
For a visitor to Scotland, it can be difficult to understand the local passion for a neon orange soda that locals call "the brew." The drink is Irn Bru (pronounced "iron brew").<p>You can find it from McDonald's to corner stores and pubs across Scotland. It is such a powerful force that it may even outsell Coca-Cola here — making it one of the few places on the globe where Coke isn't the leading brand.<p>"This stuff runs in my blood," says Chris Young, as he walks through downtown Glasgow carrying a bottle.<p>Perhaps he's not a fair sample, though, since he is actually drinking the stuff.Wed, 27 Aug 2014 19:34:52 +0000Ari Shapiro18314 at http://www.kplu.orgIt's Not Whisky, But Everyone In Scotland Drinks It By The BottleA Scottish Yarn: A Knit In Time Saves The Fabric Of Shetland Lifehttp://www.kplu.org/post/scottish-yarn-knit-time-saves-fabric-shetland-life
Drive around the Shetland Islands in the far north of Scotland, and at least one thing is immediately apparent: It's home to a lot of sheep. They're everywhere — wandering along the roadsides and on beaches.<p>In fact, there are some 400,000 of them in Shetland, where the ovine inhabitants outnumber the human ones 20 to 1.<p>So if you're invited to someone's home for dinner, lamb will likely be on the table. And if you're wearing a local scarf or mittens, chances are it was made out of Shetland wool.<p>Here in Shetland, knitting is not a hobby reserved for grannies or for hipsters.Wed, 02 Jul 2014 20:38:23 +0000Ari Shapiro17544 at http://www.kplu.orgA Scottish Yarn: A Knit In Time Saves The Fabric Of Shetland LifeAcross Europe, Anti-Uber Protests Clog City Streetshttp://www.kplu.org/post/across-europe-anti-uber-protests-clog-city-streets
In capital cities across Europe, taxi drivers took to the streets without passengers Wednesday afternoon. They slowed to a snail's pace in what Parisians called "Operation Escargot." Horns blared around Trafalgar Square in London. In Berlin, taxis massed at the Central Station. All to protest the smartphone app Uber.<p>"We've opened Frankfurt last week, we've opened Lille in France, which is our third city this week.Wed, 11 Jun 2014 19:22:05 +0000Ari Shapiro17085 at http://www.kplu.orgAcross Europe, Anti-Uber Protests Clog City StreetsHero Or Villain? Historical Ukrainian Figure Symbolizes Today's Feudhttp://www.kplu.org/post/hero-or-villain-historical-ukrainian-figure-symbolizes-todays-feud
Let's start with the basics: Stepan Bandera was born in 1909 in what is now western Ukraine. In 1959, the Soviet Union's KGB poisoned Bandera with cyanide and he died in Munich, West Germany.<p>Between those two dates, black and white quickly fades to gray.<p>In western Ukraine, many see him as a freedom fighter who battled domination by the Soviet Union and other European powers before and during World War II. They see themselves as the heirs to Bandera's struggle.<p>In eastern Ukraine, Bandera has entirely different connotations.Tue, 20 May 2014 16:30:07 +0000Ari Shapiro16694 at http://www.kplu.orgHero Or Villain? Historical Ukrainian Figure Symbolizes Today's FeudU.S. Spinmeisters Gear Up For Big Election ... Britain's Electionhttp://www.kplu.org/post/us-spinmeisters-gear-big-election-britains-election
In 2000, Jeff Shesol was nearing the end of his stint as a White House speechwriter for President Clinton. He went to the Democratic convention in Los Angeles, where he met a young staffer from Britain's Labour Party. They struck up a friendship.<p>"And so almost immediately after the Clinton administration had ended, I got a call to come over and begin writing speeches," Shesol says. "Before long, Labour was in the throes of its campaign, and I was stationed there along with them."<p>The young staffer who brought Shesol to England 14 years ago was named Ed Miliband.Fri, 09 May 2014 17:45:38 +0000Ari Shapiro16471 at http://www.kplu.orgU.S. Spinmeisters Gear Up For Big Election ... Britain's ElectionBetween Friends, Family And Country, Ukrainian Police Lie Lowhttp://www.kplu.org/post/between-friends-family-and-country-ukrainian-police-lie-low
<p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onRu5am9Rx0</p>Sat, 12 Apr 2014 20:38:05 +0000Ari Shapiro15964 at http://www.kplu.orgBetween Friends, Family And Country, Ukrainian Police Lie LowMolotov Cocktails And Razor Wire: Inside An Occupied Building In Ukrainehttp://www.kplu.org/post/molotov-cocktails-and-razor-wire-inside-occupied-building-ukraine
<em>In Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk, activists who want to align the country more with Russia seized a regional administration building in the center of town last weekend. NPR correspondent Ari Shapiro went inside the building Friday and reports on what it was like:</em><p>Overnight, reports said pro-Russian protesters here in Donetsk had reinforced the barricade surrounding the 11-story government building that the demonstrators have occupied since Sunday.Fri, 11 Apr 2014 16:58:11 +0000Ari Shapiro15927 at http://www.kplu.orgMolotov Cocktails And Razor Wire: Inside An Occupied Building In UkraineGod Save The Queen — And Donetsk, Too?http://www.kplu.org/post/god-save-queen-and-donetsk-too
The eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk has been the center of a standoff since Sunday, with demonstrators pleading for the city to join Russia, while government leaders insist it will remain part of Ukraine.<p>In the midst of this tug-of-war, there's a third country that may have a claim on the city — though admittedly, a much looser one.<p>"God Save The Queen" isn't just the British national anthem, it's also the name of a campaign to bring Donetsk under the sheltering wing of Her Majesty's United Kingdom.<p>(You read that correctly: the UK.Thu, 10 Apr 2014 22:20:12 +0000Ari Shapiro15912 at http://www.kplu.orgGod Save The Queen — And Donetsk, Too?Ukrainian Protesters Seize Weapons, Raising The Stakeshttp://www.kplu.org/post/ukrainian-protesters-seize-weapons-raising-stakes
The drive to Luhansk takes you past fields of corn and sunflowers that are just beginning to sprout. You pass the town of Yennakieva, where the ousted Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was born. Eventually the fields give way to factories, and about 15 miles from the border with Russia, you hit the industrial city of Luhansk.<p>Police have blocked off the center of town.Wed, 09 Apr 2014 21:59:06 +0000Ari Shapiro15859 at http://www.kplu.orgUkrainian Protesters Seize Weapons, Raising The Stakes